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02/27/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres will look to rebound from an emotional weekend when they battle the Toronto Maple Leafs this evening at the Air Canada Centre.
Buffalo wrapped up a high energy home-and-home series on Saturday with Ottawa, a series that saw Chris Drury go down to injury, head coach Lindy Ruff get fined and the two clubs split a pair of high-scoring games.
It all started last Thursday in the Sabres' 6-5 shootout win over the Senators in Buffalo when Ottawa's Chris Neil put a vicious hit on Drury that caused the star center to hit the ice hard and sustain a cut to his forehead that required 20 stitches to close.
Drury is out indefinitely due to his laceration and concussion-like symptoms. He now joins an extended roster of injured Sabres, a list that includes forwards Ales Kotalik (sprained MCL in right knee), Daniel Paille (broken finger) and Maxim Afinogenov (left wrist surgery), and defenseman Jaroslav Spacek (broken left hand).
An all-out brawl ensued moments after the hit that included all 10 skaters on the ice and both goaltenders -- Buffalo's Martin Biron and Ottawa's Ray Emery. Heated words were also exchanged between Ruff and Ottawa head coach Bryan Murray.
After the contest, Ruff admitted to sending out his enforcers and was fined $10,000 for his actions.
The two clubs then met on Saturday with Ottawa posting a 6-5 win over Buffalo. The game was calmer than what could have been expected and only featured a pair of fights in the second period as well as some scattered roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct calls.
Henrik Tallinder recorded his first two-goal NHL game for the Eastern Conference-leading Sabres, who lost for just the second time in their last eight. Thomas Vanek had a goal and an assist, Drew Stafford and Daniel Briere notched a pair of assists each, while Jason Pominville and Derek Roy also tallied.
Briere extended his points streak to six games in the loss. He has four goals and six assists in that span.
Martin Biron stopped 12-of-16 shots before exiting the game. Ryan Miller was saddled with the loss despite giving up two goals on 21 shots in relief.
Buffalo is a solid 19-9-2 on the road this season. The Sabres will host Montreal on Friday.
The Maple Leafs were in Montreal on Monday and were handed a 5-4 defeat by the Canadiens. Bates Battaglia and Bryan McCabe each tallied a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs, who have dropped three of four.
Andrew Raycroft stopped only 11-of-16 shots in the loss for Toronto, which sits in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, two points out of a playoff spot. Jean-Sebastien Aubin relieved Raycroft late in the second period and turned aside all eight shots he faced.
Toronto is 12-13-5 at home this season and will travel to New Jersey on Friday.
Toronto and Buffalo have split four meetings so far this season, though the Sabres have won four of the last six and seven of the last 10.
<< Cavs, Hornets square off in Cleveland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers try and stop a two-game losing
streak this evening when they host the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets at
Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavs have dropped two in a row after a two-game win
<< Streaking Canadiens begin road swing against Rangers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having re-discovered their winning ways, the Montreal
Canadiens begin an important road trip tonight at Madison Square Garden
against a New York Rangers team in desperate need of a victory.
The Canadiens have rebounded str
<< First-place Canucks wrap up road swing in St. Louis
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks hope to complete a four-game road
trip on a positive note tonight, when they visit the St. Louis Blues at
Scottrade Center.
So far the Canucks have earned a point in each stop on the tre
<< 'Canes aim to keep playoff hopes alive against Sens
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes appear to be back on track towards
securing a playoff berth. Tonight the defending Stanley Cup champions aim for
a third consecutive victory when they host the Ottawa Senators at the RBC
Center.
Ca
Isles welcome lowly Flyers to the Coliseum >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Islanders play the sixth contest of their
current seven-game homestand this evening, when they welcome the last-place
Philadelphia Flyers to Nassau Coliseum.
The stand has been a successful one for the Islande
Lightning and Stars collide in Tampa >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Tampa Bay Lightning conclude a three-game
homestand this evening, when they welcome the Dallas Stars to the St. Pete
Times Forum.
The Lightning come into the game as winners in 10 of their past 13 games to
Pacers welcome Suns to Indy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns shoot for their fifth straight win when
they visit the Indiana Pacers tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The Pacific Division-leading Suns are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, and
notched a 115-106 win
Wizards close out trip in Jersey >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southeast Division-leading Washington Wizards wrap up a
three-game road trip when they visit the New Jersey Nets tonight at
Continental Airlines Arena.
Washington is 0-2 on the swing. On Sunday, Kevin Garne
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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